The Legacy
by Da'SaVage-Tiger
Summary: Tennessee Kid Cooper reflects on what happened following Sly's disappearance after Toothpick's defeat, and about Sly himself. Rated K for one small suggestive bit and some angst. -Set a few days after Toothpick is beat-


**Was inspired to create this after finishing Tennessee's level in _Thieves in Time._ Hope you guys like it! I may consider creating more stories on this later on.**

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It has been two days…. two days since the infamous Sly Cooper had disappeared, with a blink of an eye. He'd disappeared from 1881, to be exact, but in the mind of Tennessee Cooper, he'd simply- disappeared.

Or had he?

Tennessee pondered this in his mind, as he sat atop the roof of a Saloon, watching the large star atop of Toothpick's old office spin over and over again, while fidgeting with his rifle/cane. Sighing, and leaning against the sign behind him, he than stared up at the sky, not necessarily knowing what it was he expected to find so interesting up there.

When he'd watched as that- strange metal contraption they'd called a 'Van', fly off that bridge, the Master Thief knew for sure that it was the end of his future ancestor, and his gang. Except, when he'd looked off the edge of that blown bridge, and into the debris ridden canyon and rushing river below, Tennessee saw only one thing.

Nothing. No Van, no Sly, no Bentley, no weird pink hippo, nothing. It was as if they'd simply vanished without a trace- or never existed.

Sly had been one heck of a partner to work with…. and he was definitely a man worth of the Cooper name, of his _family's name._ And Bentley and Murray, as odd as they may have seemed to Tennessee, were also a worthy of being a gang to Sly. Sly did everything for Tennessee, more than he could ever realize. He'd saved him from facing the gallows, he'd helped him get his gun back, he'd helped him deal with the one no good Sheriff who'd sentenced him to death in the first place. Sly Cooper, had re-kindled the legend of Tennessee Cooper to live on.

But he was not able to thank him for it now. Sly and his group was gone, and there wasn't really anything this outlaw could do about it. If only there'd been a way for him to say goodbye…. just to say that one word to him, or anything at all that would show his gratitude, Tennessee would actually feel more like himself.

Sly's appearance did raise questions in Tennessee's mind, however. Like how would he carry on the family legacy? If he has an ancestor 124 years from now…. Than it would be safe to assume that Tennessee HIMSELF, had kids, and Tennessee didn't exactly have marriage on his mind at the moment. A pretty gal to hang out with and kiss every once in a while, sure, just not marriage. Besides, how else would Sly exist, unless there was to be another ancestor other than Tennessee alive at the time?

Then there was Carmelita… the feisty and vicious, yet attractive and very pleasing to look at sharp shooting Vixen. Ha. She reminded him all too well of that one gal, which he never got to mention in the past. She did look so much like her, with her contrasting personality, and sharp shooting skills. Tennessee, though he was a Master Thief, did have a keen interest in the opposite gender at times. It was difficult for him to express it, since he had both the guards and the law on his back usually, had to keeping running and stealing, while also attempting to spend time with his interest. Before Carmelita, he'd only ever had one. But this fox…. whoa, he could say about twenty different things about why she seemed like the perfect woman in the west. (Minus not having the correct accent.) Of course, with these thoughts going through Tennessee's head, it is no secret that he did admire Miss Fox to great heights. Only, they never really were confirmed until after he'd witnessed her extremely complimentary marksmanship on the river. Then there was her terrific structure of her body…. which Tennessee had never dared to acknowledge openly, since he clearly saw that Sly also seemed to have had a fling with his gorgeous woman as well. That and he NEVER, EVER, claimed another person's lover or wife.

Last but not least, Mr. Toothpick.

If there was one person Tennessee didn't like other than a coward or a dishonorable outlaw, it was Toothpick. The Armadillo clearly didn't have the right goals in mind for his own town, and was far too concerned and obsessed with putting Tennessee behind bars than doing what was right for the town itself. And the fact that he'd decided to put the Raccoon behind bars, in an UNFAIR trial? That drew the line with Tennessee Kid Cooper.

When it came time to deciding Toothpick's fate at the bridge, however…. Tennessee decided that it was time he saw the other side of the law from Tennessee's perspective: In the Maximum Security Prison. There, Toothpick continued to stay, and to rot, much to his satisfaction, and Tennessee was free.

The Raccoon chuckled at this thought of Toothpick, wondering just what he could be doing at the moment. Probably thinking up a pretty dumb idea of how to escape, Tennessee guessed, or coming up with a new evil or sadistic scheme for the town. Either way, he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was free, and was back in business.

The Kid, was back in Business….

Once he was done resting, and thinking, Tennessee sat up from the roof's edge and carefully balanced himself. He jumped to the lamppost across from him, than to the next, and leaped to the next rooftop diagonal from him, ignorant of the guards patrolling in the streets below him, and not really paying them any heed. With one more slight jump onto the center beam of the roof, Tennessee ran alongside it carefully, yet swiftly and delicately, and with another beautiful hop, he perched himself on a store sign.

The sight of a very familiar building made Tennessee's eyes light up with delight. He grinned, his peculiar whites showing in his perfect smile.

With only a minimal security of two guards in the front, the wooden sign that read: _Bank,_ hung above the doorway of the small yet easily recognizable structure. Indeed, Tennessee Cooper was back in business.

He moved to jump, but the sight of another pleasing sight caused him to stop and nearly fall off the item he was perched on. Another young lady, a Raccoon by the looks of it, seemed to be wandering towards the market district. And to Tennessee, she did look- mighty attractive, to say the least.

 _Maybe….. maybe my legacy might be carried out after all,_ Tennessee said with a shrug, smiling as he silently proceeded to advance towards the market district, a certain gal on his mind…. then again, maybe the bank was too.

And perhaps this young lady was to be the one to carry on Tennessee's legacy…. The future and past works in mysterious ways, so they say.

This is one lesson Tennessee learned, experiencing Sly's arrival.


End file.
